Award-Winning Author Ellen Jackson

All the information contained in this list can be found online, and I therefore presume that it can be made public. Please use this list responsibly. Think very carefully before sending manuscripts to a listed editor. Not all of them are open to unsolicited manuscripts. Check another source, such as CWIM and the publisher’s guidelines, for additional information about how and if to contact each person.

Continued: Editors D to K

MARGERY CUYLER, Marshall Cavendish--PBs, Rhyming books, Board Books, Easy Reader/​Chapter Books, Middle Grade, YA, Non Fiction, Graphic Novels, Historical fiction, Fantasy, Edgy. She likes a novel that “immediately represents modern conflict” and one that doesn’t “hold the story hostage to the message.” At a conference specifically geared to the Jewish market, Ms. Cuyler mentioned that there’s a big need for “good Jewish mysteries and time travel" as well as a need for "contemporary Jewish stories."

ANASTASIA CORTEZ-HarperCollins. YA novels. Prefers urban fantasy (vampires and werewolf mostly-no elves), post apocalyptic sci fi, chick lit, humor, and action/​adventure. Would love a graphic novel submission.

MICHELLE CORPORA is an editorial assistant for Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. She received an MA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University in 2008, and interned at both DK Children’s Publishing and Bloomsbury Children’s Books. She also teaches an online course in Literary Publishing at Eastern Connecticut State University. She’s the (not-so) new kid at Greenwillow Books.

ALEXANDRA COOPER is an editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Simon & Schuster Books publishes for a general audience of children from preschool to teen. Ms. Cooper works on hardcover trade picture books, middle-grade fiction, and young adult novels. Some of her titles include Escaping into the Night by Dina Friedman, Huge by Sasha Paley, and Bear of My Heart by Joanne Ryder, illustrated by Margie Moore. She enjoys funny picture books and voice-driven fiction. Editors want a balance between backlist authors and new authors (looking for writers she can work with again), as well as a balance between commercial and literary books. Right now, she’s signing more novels than picture books, but it’s cyclical, she said. One of the reasons publishing companies are more cautious on picture books right now is the cost and economy. Color picture books are printed in China, and the weak dollar is making printing costs rise.

NANCY CONESCU-Executive Editor, Dutton. Projects she has edited include: Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley; Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle by Kirby Larson, Mary Nethery, and Brian Dennis; Michelle Zink’s Prophecy of the Sisters; and Martha Doesn’t Say Sorry by Samantha Berger and Bruce Whatley. Intrigued by dark humor, satire, the supernatural and projects that test the creative boundaries of their genre. She looks for literary and commercial mg fiction, edgy ya and inventive and nontraditional pb. She’s especially looking for a different take on familiar subjects, like Vampirates. She looks at Etsy.com and other artistic websites to find illustrators. She also likes edgier YA.

ARIEL COLLETTI is a Publishing Associate at Simon and Schuster Children’s Books. Ariel is currently part of the editorial team working on Cynthia Rylant’s new Brownie and Pearl series at Beach Lane Books and has assisted on projects such as Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s acclaimed Alice series and the upcoming Narco Boy by Evan Coleman. She is also the paperback coordinator for the Children’s Trade Division. Ariel is open to a wide variety of projects but is first and foremost interested in looking for strong MG voices and young, fun, interactive PBs.

MARY COLGAN is an assistant editor in the children's division of Chronicle Books in San Francisco. She acquires projects for all ages, from picture books to teen novels, and has a particular interest in helping to grow Chronicle's middle-grade and young adult fiction list. Her recent and upcoming projects include a guided journal for tween girls and their moms, titled Just Between Us; the picture book Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site; and the YA novel Zelda From the Stars.

ERIN CLARKE is a senior editor at Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, where she has worked for eleven years. Authors and illustrators with whom she works include Markus Zusak, Julia Alvarez, Meghan McCarthy, Lesley M.M. Blume, Anna Alter, Mark Alan Stamaty, Karen Foxlee, Mick Cochrane, Barbara Jean Hicks, and Sue Hendra. Erin is interested in publishing good stories regardless of genre or themes that might be contained in them. She edits six to eight novels per year as well as picture books.

KELLI CHIPPONERI, editor, Chronicle. Previously Kelli was children’s editorial director at Running Press, where she worked on the Cathy’s Book series and the Peanuts and Hello Kitty licenses, among other properties. She has edited How To Raise A Dinosaur by Natasha Wing and before leaving RP she acquired Sherry Shahan’s forthcoming free verse novel Purple Daze, a provocative story set in 1965 Los Angeles in which six high school students navigate war, riots, love, rock 'n' roll, school, and friendship.

KAREN CHAPLIN is an Editor at Puffin/​Speak Books, Penguin Young Readers Group. Karen acquires MG and YA fiction. Some of the projects she has worked on include Students Across the Seven Seas series, Zombie Queen of Newberry High by Amanda Ashby, Exclusively Chloe by J. A. Yang, and the Specialists series by Shannon Greenland. Karen is looking for fun, original series fiction as well as stand alone fiction for the MG and YA markets. While science fiction/​fantasy is not her cup of tea, the genres she is looking for include chick lit, fun action/​adventure series (boy and girl), mysteries, horror/​paranormal, romance, stories with strong female characters (including topics such as sisters and friendships), anything boy-centric, and commercial literary and edgy fiction.

SUSAN CHANG is a Senior Editor at Tor Books, where they publish award-winning science fiction and fantasy for middle grade readers ages 10 and up (grades 5 and up), in hardcover and mass market paperback. Tor Teen/​Starscape authors include David Lubar, Orson Scott Card, Jane Yolen, Christopher Pike, William Sleator and Hugo award-winner, Ginny Rorby. Susan acquires and edits books for the Starscape middle grade and Tor Teen young adult imprints. The genres she likes include science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, horror, and mysteries. Unsolicited submissions are accepted.

JUSTIN CHANDA VP, Publisher S&S Books for Young Readers, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Margaret K. McElderry Books: Justin joined the editorial staff at Atheneum Books for Young Readers in 2005 after an eight year stint at Joanna Cotler Books an Imprint of HarperCollins. A graduate of New York University, Justin was named publisher of the S&S Books for Young Readers imprint in 2007 and McElderry Books and Atheneum Books for Young Readers in 2009. He is keenly interested in publishing books that are equal parts commercial and literary, books that make a contribution to the tradition, while truly entertaining kids. Aside from having the honor of working with the best editorial staff in the industry, he also still has the opportunity to edit some of its best talent including the likes of: Jon Scieszka, David Shannon, Loren Long, Kenneth Oppel, Patricia MacLachlan, Mac Barnett, Adam Rex, Michael Ian Black and Eric Wight. He is also serving his second term on the CBC’s steering committee as well as being an adjunct instructor for New York University’s graduate publishing program.

MELANIE CECKA, Publishing Director, Bloomsbury. She has edited Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully by Julianne Moore and LeUyen Pham, The Mud Fairy by Amy Young, Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamare, Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, The Twin’s Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, The Sweetness of Salt by Cecilia Galante,Lady Macbeth’s Daughter by Lisa Klein, and Liar by Justine Larbalestier.

MARY KATE CASTELLANI, Walker Books, Mary Kate acquires books for all age levels, and especially likes quirky, kooky picture books that celebrate personality, and middle-grade fiction with a light-hearted, honest approach like The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z (middle-grade). She is also looking to find new YA voices for the Walker list, especially ones that have a more literary feel, but also likes issue-driven stories, such as her project Dirty Little Secrets, a story that explores the effects of compulsive hoarding on a family. Her acquisitions wish list also includes historical fiction with a strong hook, coming of age stories handled with humor, and explorations of spiritual or cultural identity.

MARY CASH, Executive Editor, Holiday House. Cash has been at Holiday House since 1996, and was previously Editorial Director of hardcover books at Bantam Doubleday Dell. All levels. Looking for literary fiction, books with strong stories, writing and art. Holiday House publishes more than 60 books a year, two thirds of them picture books, both fiction and nonfiction. Not looking for board books or novelties.

SUZY CAPOZZI is an editor at Random House/​Golden Books Young Readers Group, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. She has been with the company for nine years, and she edits everything from picture books to young adult novels. Titles she has edited include Stitchin’ and Pullin’ a Gee’s Bend Quilt by Patricia McKissack, Dogerella by Maribeth Boelts,and Two Hot Dogs with Everything by Paul Haven. Upcoming titles include: Shampoodle by Joan Holub, Who Will I Be, Lord? by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, and Party by Tom Leveen. Suzy is the line manager for Step into Reading, Random House’s stepped reader series.

STACY CANTOR previously with Bloomsbury is now with Walker Books for Young Readers where she is an editor. She has worked on fabulous books that span many genres and she has a personal fondness for funny or strong read-aloud picture books, coming-of-age middle grade, and YA that’s both literary and commercial. Stacy is looking for edgy and hard-hitting YA that explores contemporary issues, middle-grade with a strong commercial hook, and anything with a juicy romance at its heart. No fantasy.

MICHELE BURKE is an Associate Editor at Knopf and Crown Books for Young Readers. Michele has worked at Knopf and Crown for the past six and a half years. She enjoys working on many different genres and is open to all kinds of stories with fully-realized characters and emotionally resonant voices. Among the many talented authors she has worked with at Knopf are Jeanne Birdsall, Wendelin Van Draanen, Juliet Marillier, and Jarrett J. Krosoczka. She is the editor of the YA novels Knights of the Hill Country and National Book Award finalist The Spectacular Now, both by Tim Tharp. She is also the editor of PB book Matilda’s Humdinger by Lynn Downey with illustrations by Tim Bowers, and MG novels Fortune’s Fool by Kathleen Karr, Leo and the Lesser Lion by Sandra Forrester, and Rocky Road by Rose Kent (Summer 2010). She is the U.S. editor for the Pure Dead series by Debi Gliori, Space Dogs by Justin Ball and Evan Croker, Runner by Robert Newton, and Will by Maria Boyd (Summer 2010).

ROSEMARY BROSNAN is Executive Editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books. She publishes hardcover picture books, chapter books, middle-grade and young adult fiction, and nonfiction for all ages. Rosemary is the HarperCollins children’s division’s coordinator of Rayo, an imprint that publishes books by Latino and Latina authors as well as Spanish-language books. She says, “When I acquire a book, I like to think about the author's career as a whole--not about only one book, but about whether the author has potential as a writer and whether he or she will go on to write more books...Often, a manuscript is well done but there is nothing that makes it outstanding. I try to be very selective, and I have to love a book and feel it's outstanding in order to publish it. An editor needs to read a manuscript many times during the course of the book's production, and we only want to read something that many times if we feel very strongly about it.” Some of the books she has edited are: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver and The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer.

TAMAR BRAZIS, editor, Abrams, has edited many outstanding books including Laura Numeroff's Jellybeans picture book series, Tilley The Trickster, introducing Tilly, a mischievous trickster who loves April Fool's Day, and Around My Way by Tee Brown (2010). Abrams specializes in highly visual and high design books such as The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Meanwhile. They excel at nontraditional narrative and are also interested in first chapter books and younger picture books.

JENNIFER BONNELL is a Senior Editor at Puffin Books, Penguin Young Readers Group. Jennifer works on MG and YA fiction and non-fiction and has edited Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition; Cindy Ella and Geek Charming by Robin Palmer; Kieran Scott’s Geek Magnet; Let it Snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle and Maureen Johnson; Puffin Graphics graphic novel adaptations of the classics. She’s looking for books that would be a good fit in original paperback—specifically books with great hooks and concepts and very strong voices, and would love to find a killer MG novel for guys. She loves humor, romance, witty voices, historical fiction with modern appeal, and does not work on high fantasy or sci-fi.

COURTNEY BONGIOLATTI is an Associate Editor at Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers. She has worked on many titles including the best-selling Private and Privilege series by Kate Brian. She also edits all of the 7 Habits children’s books with Sean Covey, Kaza Kingsley’s Erec Rex series, and the Wee Little picture book series with Lauren Thompson. Currently, she is looking to acquire mostly boy middle grade and literary and commercial teen fiction. Upcoming projects that she is editing are a historical fiction novel about the New York Yankees set in the summer of 1961, a teen non-fiction novel with organizational guru Peter Walsh, and Long Shot, a picture book with NBA All-Star Chris Paul illustrated by Frank Morrison. Likes chick lit also.

ANAMIKA BHATNAGAR, editor with Scholastic. She’s the editor of Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curts. She's looking for books with unique writing and a strong narrative voice. Picture books need to make her laugh out loud. She likes short, simple, alliteration, rhyming, fun sounds, satisfying, strong verbs and actions. Some picture books she likes: A Birthday for Cow, I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean, and Jane Yolen's dinosaur books. She wants chapter books starring characters she wants to be friends with. She loves school books, grounded in reality for either gender, humorous and satisfying. For illustrations, she likes everything, paintings to cartoons, graphic novels, very realistic to simple, black and white illustrations in books like Clementine.

ELIZABETH BEWLEY of Little Brown Books for Young Readers (LBYR) has edited books for ages 2 to 18 but her passion is teen fiction. Elizabeth has worked with several New York Times bestselling authors, including Alyson Noel (Faking 19, Evermore) and Cecily von Ziegesar (Gossip Girl, It Girl). Before joining LBYR, Elizabeth worked for St. Martin’s Press, HarperCollins, and Intervisual Books.

STACEY BARNEY-Putnam. Strong voice, great language---loves both lush and spare writing, fast paced story and strong characters. Not really into fantasy or science fiction unless it's based in reality. Stacey is looking for multicultural voices in everything from chapter books and middle grade to young adult. The bulk of her list is contemporary teen fiction with some middle grade. Not interested in picture books.

SARAH DOTTS BARLEY–Editor, HarperCollins (formerly at Holt). At Holt, Sarah, an Assistant Editor, worked with two senior editors: Reka Simonsen and Kate Farrell on everything from picture book biographies to novels in verse to gritty YA to fantasy to illustrated chapter books. Books she has worked on include: Clare Dunkle’s upcoming House of Dead Maids, Nicholas Dane by YA author Melvin Burgess.

BONNIE BADER is the Editor-in-Chief of Grosset and Dunlap and Price Stern Sloan, two imprints of the Penguin Young Readers Group. She oversees a group of eight editors who actively acquire a wide range of books from series to readers to novelty to licensed properties. The editors are always looking to hire writers to work on both a “for hire” and a “royalty” basis. While licensed publishing is a staple of the group, a big focus is on middle-grade series. Some of the bestselling series published by Grosset include Camp Confidential, Hank Zipzer, and Katie Kazoo.

LAURA ARNOLD-Harper Collins. Fiction for all ages, but primary interest is in middle grade and tween fiction, and she also does some work on chapter books but not on picture books. Laura would love to find the right voice driven Gothic novel, spy story, or dance story. “In the young adult market, paranormal fantasy continues to exert a powerful hold. It started out as a vampire craze and is branching out to faeries, ghosts, werewolves, and more...Children’s book publishing, like all publishing for that matter, is cyclical. I would venture that at the current moment it’s hard to launch a chapter book, because there are already so many successful series out there..”

JENNIFER ARENA-Random House. Specializes in early chapter books. Most interested in well written original early chapter book fiction with strong plots and interesting characters around 7500-11000 words at a 1st-3rd grade reading level, both stand alone titles and fun easy-to-reads with strong hooks. Jennifer is the line manager of the Stepping Stones series of early chapter books, which include the Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House Series. Recent titles she has edited for the Stepping Stones series include Marion Dane Bauer’s The Green Ghost, Ilene Cooper’s Look at Lucy, and Lynne Jonell’s upcoming Hamster Magic.

KATE ANGELELLA is an Assistant Editor for Aladdin/​Simon and Schuster. Kate works primarily MG and tween fiction. She has edited the Canterwood Crest series by Jessica Burkhart, Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma, The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon and the upcoming Magic Repair Shop books by Amanda Marrone. Kate is particularly interested in commercial, high concept MG and tween fiction. She loves sassy, chick-lit-y tween novels; paranormal or magical realism; and novels with strong, angsty female protagonists, as well as novels with any type of magic or paranormal element. Generally speaking, Kate is not a great match for picture books.

ANNMARIE ANDERSON, Senior Editor, Scholastic Trade Paperback, Currently she is focusing on editing and acquiring engaging and entertaining middle grade paperback series for boys and girls. AnnMarie is looking for boy-friendly content materials that will be appealing to the reluctant reader (Captain Underpants is a great example) and for stories with animal characters (good examples are Warriors and Bunnicula the vampire bunny). It is safe to suspect that if the well-written characters happen to have culturally diverse backgrounds, you will definitely get noticed. AnnMarie is also currently overseeing a line of spine-tingling, stand-alone, supernaturally influenced novels for tween girls called Poison Apple. She also enjoys dramatic adventure stories that are fast-paced and full of action. Double bonus points if a book makes her laugh out loud while reading it on the subway!

LINDSEY ALEXANDER-Laura Geringer Books. PB, MG, YA. Likes more literary, character driven fiction. Lindsey enjoys working on YA in particular. A well drawn MC with an unforgettable voice is extremely important. Off the wall, eccentric humor and fresh format appeal to her. Would like to see more YA with a global scope, books that are timely and give readers insight into the conflicts, issues and cultural debates seen on the evening news.

HEATHER ALEXANDER is an Editorial Assistant for Dial Books for Young Readers. Heather is interested in acquiring books for all age ranges, from PBs to YA, especially character driven stories with a unique voice or hook. She loves raucous PBs (especially ones written in prose and that are without an obvious lesson), funny, unique MG, and smart contemplative YA. She is not mad for high fantasy, but can get down with contemporary or urban fantasy and almost anything post-apocalyptic with a literary bent. She is not necessarily the go-to gal for non-fiction or vampires. She co-edited the upcoming Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse by Rebecca Janni. Recently, Heather has been working on a hilarious PB of etiquette, and co-editing a NG novel for boys, doing research for the just-published The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and assisting on countless other titles.

EVE ADLER is an Associate Editor at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. Eve works on a variety of formats from baby to YA, and is looking for manuscripts for all ages: PBs, MG novels, and YA. She has worked with award-winning authors and illustrators such as Kimberly Willis Holt, Elise Broach, and Janet Tashjian. She enjoys manuscripts with a fresh voice and exceptional writing; for MG and YA projects, she likes historical, contemporary, edgy, coming-of-age, and humorous stories, and for PBs, she’s most interested in texts that have a curriculum tie-in or an educational hook.

WESLEY ADAMS-Farrar, Straus and Giroux (pet peeve-don't spell the name wrong) Full range-from very young PB to very old YA. He would like to see smart, sass-filled manuscripts that he thinks will make kids laugh. Mr. Adams, editor of Terence Blacker's middle-grade novel Boy2Girl, welcomes "books with a rebellious spirit.” “The longer I'm in [the publishing business]," he says, "the less patience I have with preachy, serious, sober titles. At this point, I'm looking for books with comic flair and an energetic approach to material." In 2001, Adams signed author-illustrator Andrea U'Ren for Pugdog, an account of a female dog that rejects conventional feminine trappings. "As far as the gender issue behind it, my interest in that is the comedy of it all, the absurdity." He's also edited I Am Not Joey Pigza by Jack Gantos, Saturday Night Dirt by Will Weaver and At Night by Jonathan Bean.

KAYLAN ADAIR is an Associate Editor at Candlewick Press in Somerville, Massachusetts. Kaylan acquires everything from picture books through upper YA, although she specializes in middle-grade and young-adult fiction. Among the projects she's edited are the YA novels DOWN SAND MOUNTAIN by Steve Watkins and SWIM THE FLY by Don Calame, and the early reader SQUIRREL'S WORLD by Lisa Moser, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev. She is the American editor of the YA novel THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO by Patrick Ness, winner of the 2008 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. Previously, she was the American editor of the Maisy books by Lucy Cousins. Kaylan is looking for fresh, original voices and compelling stories. She loves characters with a lot of heart, whether the story itself is humorous, quiet, sad, or gritty. She tends to shy away from poetry, non-fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy.

JENNE ABRAMOWITZ-Scholastic-Trade Paperback/​Club Originals. Jenne primarily works on commercial chapter books and middle grade series fiction. She states that her focus is no longer on picture books. Jenne has worked with authors Natasha Wing, Seymour Simon, and True Kelley. Some of the upcoming books she edited include the My First Biography picture book series by Marion Dane Bauer, the chapter book Cornelia and the great Snake Escape by Pam Munoz Ryon, and Hiro’s Quest, a fast-paced ninja series by Tracey West. Jenne is most interested in clever, funny series fiction with unique premises and quirky characters, and is a sucker for a good mystery. She is probably not the right editor for historical or high concept novels, or anything too dark and edgy for the school market.

CAROLINE ABBEY–Associate Editor, Bloomsbury Children’s Books--Caroline acquires and edits at all age levels with a focus on middle grade and YA fiction. Her current projects include Jen Nadol’s paranormal debut, The Mark, the zany middle grade adventure, Pickle Impossible, by Eli Stitz, and the middle grade mythology-inspired Pandora series by Carolyn Hennesy. Her recent acquisitions include The Kid Table, a contemporary YA novel about teenage cousins still sitting at the infamous kid table, by Andrea Seigel and Melissa Walker’s Small Town Sinners, a YA novel about a teen girl’s experience starring in a Hell House and questioning her own faith. Caroline was previously with Simon Pulse before joining the Bloomsbury team.